Heroic young people inspire an extraordinary challenge for charity

14 July 2015 09:45

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The incredible stories of Stephen Sutton and Harry Moseley inspired one fundraiser to take on his own extraordinarily steep challenge for charity. Paul will be cycling L’Etape Du Tour - a mountain stage of this year’s Tour De France. Added to the challenge will be his goal to raise £5,000 for not one, but two charities.

Paul Stokes, Managing Director of Oxford-based Gener8 Finance Limited, will be taking on the L’Etape Du Tour challenge on 19th July 2015, after months of training and preparations. The challenge is certainly no easy feat - with 142km of cycling and over 4,000 metres of brutal vertical climbing in the French Alps. The difficulty is reflected in the fact that the same route will be ridden by the Tour De France cyclists just 5 days later. Luckily he has a fantastic bike to ride, supplied by Roux Bikes, a British bicycle designer and distributor - Paul will certainly be flying the flag for Britain in France. Since it was the incredible stories of Stephen Sutton and Harry Moseley that inspired Paul’s challenge, he decided to raise money for both their respective charities - Teenage Cancer Trust and Help Harry Help Others. Both charities provide amazing support and care for young people and children with cancer, a cause close to Paul’s heart.

As well as the big ride, Paul has the challenge of fundraising too. With his sights set on raising £5,000, he has had to be a little inventive when it comes to sponsorship, and recently raised over £2,000 towards his fundraising target by holding a quiz night. Instead of following the usual JustGiving route, Paul decided to fundraise through make-a-donation.org, as it’s the only UK fundraising & crowd-funding site which doesn’t charge charities any fees. This means that every last penny of every donation will go to his charities, allowing his fundraising to make a real difference. CEO of Make a Donation, David Finch, comments ‘It’s brilliant that we are able to support not only Paul, but both of his chosen charities. Our mission is to change the way giving is paid for: no more fees, commissions and deductions from the money raised. Instead our business partners are helping us by covering these costs, whilst offering fantastic rewards to those who fundraise and give through our site.’ Paul adds, ‘Using Make a Donation makes complete sense - not only do my chosen charities bank every penny donated, but the people who donate also receive rewards as a thank you for their generosity. It’s a complete win-win.’

Although Paul’s challenge is tough, it’s fundraisers like Paul that will help revolutionize the third sector. Not only is he directly supporting two amazing charities, but by using make-a-donation.org, Paul is going one step further and ensuring that his fundraising is also fee-free for the charities. With the help of pioneering fundraisers like Paul, soon the days of percentages being taken from donations will be long gone and the way giving is paid for in the UK will be changed forever.

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For further information, please contact: Rosa Hinton at rosa@make-a-donation.org

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About Make a Donation

Make a Donation is the only UK fundraising &amp;amp; crowd-funding site where 100% of your donations goes to the charity. Whilst other fundraising sites (including JustGiving) charge up to 6.3% in fees, Make a Donation doesn’t charge charities any fees whatsoever and never will.

Make a Donation is so passionate about fee-free fundraising that it even pays the bank transaction charges for charities - saving a further 1.7% per donation on average, something that no other fundraising site does.

Our vision is to change the future of giving in the UK - we strive for a world where fees for charities are non-existent.

How is this possible? It’s with the help of the business community - whether it’s through sponsorship, an affiliate or a monthly subscription, our business partners help us pay all fees for charities.

Our business partners also help us reward the generosity of our donors and fundraisers by offering exclusive discounts for their brands.

In return, Make a Donation works with these businesses to improve their social responsibility, connect with their communities, enhance their brand and promote their offers to our community.

Make a Donation offers a simple, effective solution which benefits all involved. We call it #morethanjustgiving